Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
  • G06F3/03—Arrangements for converting the position or the displacement of a member into a coded form
  • G06F3/041—Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
  • G06F3/0416—Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
  • G06F3/04166—Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
  • G06F3/03—Arrangements for converting the position or the displacement of a member into a coded form
  • G06F3/041—Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
  • G06F3/044—Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means by capacitive means
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
  • G06F3/03—Arrangements for converting the position or the displacement of a member into a coded form
  • G06F3/041—Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
  • G06F3/044—Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means by capacitive means
  • G06F3/0444—Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means by capacitive means using a single conductive element covering the whole sensing surface, e.g. by sensing the electrical current flowing at the corners

Definitions

• This invention relates to a system and method for determining the position of the touch of a finger or touching implement.
• Sensing methods have included resistive and capacitive sensing using resistive surface layers, as well as technology such as acoustic wave and inductive electromagnetic sensing.
• touch-sensitive devices have been widely distributed in forms spanning various industries including but not limited to entertainment such as gaming, handheld and mobile applications, and a wide variety of presentation-directed industries such as business and educational applications.
• Various aspects of the present invention are directed to systems and methods for determining the position of the touch of a finger or touching implement based on passively-induced position-dependent electrical charges.
• the present invention is directed to a method for determining the position of a touching implement on the sensing surface of a device.
• the method includes charging the sensing surface during a first time period by connecting all four corners of the sensing surface to a reference voltage, and over a second time period discharging two adjacent corners of the sensing surface into an integrator capacitor while connecting the two opposite corners to ground.
• the first and second time periods together form a charge/discharge cycle that is repeated a plurality of times, after which an output of the integrator capacitor is measured.
• This sequence is performed for each of the four pairs of adjacent corners of the sensing surface, resulting in four integrator capacitor output measurements, each of the four measurements being associated with a different sensing surface edge.
• the position of the touching implement on the sensing surface is then calculated using the four charge measurements.
• the present invention is directed to an apparatus for determining the position of a touching implement on the sensing surface of a device.
• the apparatus includes a signal drive circuit, coupled to the surface of the device, to simultaneously drive all four corners of the sensing surface to a reference voltage over a first time period.
• the apparatus further includes a charge measurement circuit, coupled to the sensing surface, to passively induce a position-dependent electrical charge and to measure the position-dependent electrical charge by discharging two adjacent corners of the sensing surface into an integrator capacitor while simultaneously connecting the two opposite corners to ground during a second time period alternated with the first time period.
• the charge accumulated in the integrator capacitor indicates a coordinate on the sensing surface for establishing the position of the touching implement.
• the invention concerns a method for calibrating a touch measurement system for determining the position of a touching implement on the sensing surface of a device.
• the method includes connecting all four corners of the sensing surface to a reference voltage during a first time period, and responsive to completing the first time period, discharging two adjacent corners of the sensing surface into an integrator capacitor while connecting the two opposite corners to ground during a second time period.
• the first and second time periods are repeated a predetermined number of times, and the voltage output of the integrator capacitor is compared to a selected voltage range.
• Adjustments to the time periods are determined based on the following: the second time period is decreased if the voltage output of the integrator capacitor is below the selected voltage range, and the second time period is increased if the voltage output of the integrator capacitor is above the selected voltage range.
• the first time period may be adjusted so that the sum of the two time periods remains constant. After adjustments, the process is repeated to determine if additional adjustments should be made.
• the disclosure teaches use of passive gradient processing, methods of adjusting parameters of a passive gradient sensor to optimize gradient magnitude for determining the position of the touching implement accurately, and a variety of touch displays and touch implements.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a circuit arrangement for determining a touch position in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
• FIG. 2(a) illustrates a timing diagram useful for explaining the operation of the circuit arrangement of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
• FIG. 2(b) illustrates a flow diagram useful for explaining the operation of the circuit arrangement of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
• FIG. 3 illustrates another circuit arrangement for determining a contact position on a surface, also in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
• the present invention is believed to be applicable to a variety of different types of systems and devices having contact-sensitive surfaces that are engaged to convey information.
• Various implementations of the present invention have been found to be particularly suited for locating a specific surface region (or surface coordinate) at which contact has been made. While the present invention is not necessarily limited to such implementations, various aspects of the invention may be appreciated through a discussion of various examples using this context.
• the present invention relates to systems and methods for determining the position of a touching implement, such as a stylus or finger, on a sensing surface of a device. In such an application, a position-dependent electrical charge is induced on the touch implement that has engaged an area on the sensing surface of the device.
• This may involve holding one or more corners of the sensing surface at a fixed potential (for example, ground) and allowing the potential on the other corners of the sensing surface to be determined based on R-C delays across the sensing surface.
• a reference voltage may be applied to all four corners for a time duration At 1 , followed by grounding two adjacent corners while discharging the opposing two adjacent corners into an integrator capacitor for a time duration ⁇ t 2 , where ⁇ t 2 is less than the time required to discharge the integrator capacitor through the resistance of the sensing surface.
• the process may be repeated a number of times until the voltage on the integrator capacitor stabilizes at a relatively constant voltage.
• a signal drive circuit and a charge measurement circuit are used to induce the position-dependent electrical charge and to measure the charge on the sensing surface, which indicates touching implement location information.
• the sensing surface is uniformly charged, and the position-dependent charge is induced on the integrator capacitor during discharge of the sensing surface through the sensed corners.
• a signal processing circuit responds to the position-dependent electrical charge measurements by locating the area on the sensing surface of the device as indicated by the position-dependent electrical charge.
• certain embodiments permit for position-dependent electrical charges to respectively correspond to expected engagement areas on the sensing surface.
• the surface is a contact-alterable impedance plane that when contacted, permits the signal generation and signal processing circuits to respond to and process the position-dependent electrical charge and thereby identify the contacted surface area.
• the location of the surface engagement is automatically determined using at least one sensing channel as part of the signal processing circuit.
• a specific embodiment of the present invention uses four sensing channels (for example, one at each adjacent pair of corners of the surface).
• Other specific embodiments of the present invention determine two-dimensional touch position using fewer than four sensing channels, for example a single sensing channel.
• FIG. 1 exemplifies a system 110 which uses gradient touch detection.
• This system 110 uses a single sensing channel, via integration capacitor 125, to locate touches on an electrically resistive (sensing surface) layer 111.
• drive circuitry 116 includes tri-state logic drivers (112, 113, 114, and 115) to drive the resistive layer at four points, for example the upper and lower left and right corners UL, UR, LR and LL.
• System 110 works by establishing a position-independent charge on the capacitance 122 of finger/body 121. A position-dependent portion of charge on capacitance 122 is then transferred to integrator capacitor 125 (C int ). By appropriately driving and sensing the four corners and analyzing corresponding position-dependent electrical charges, locations of contact engagements can be determined, for example, in the form of X-Y Cartesian coordinates.
• a uniform (position-independent) voltage is induced across the sensing surface between a "sensed" side and a "driven” side during a charge period.
• the sensed side may be the side defined by adjacent corners UR and LR, and the driven side defined by opposite adjacent corners UL and LL.
• the corners of the sensed side (UR/LR) are connected to the integration capacitor 125 through resistance 118 via switches 101, and the corners of the driven side (UL/LL) are grounded.
• Charge periods and discharge periods are alternated during a measurement sequence and the voltage on integrator capacitor 125 builds up with each charge and discharge cycle until a predetermined number of drive cycles is accomplished, ending a measurement sequence.
• the voltage signal from the charge accumulated in the integrator capacitor is then measured, for example using an analog to digital converter (ADC) 131.
• ADC analog to digital converter
• the measured output voltage of the integrator capacitor 125 includes the variable effects of the touching implement 121 applied to the sensing surface 111, such effects being proportional to the distance of the touching implement relative to the sensed side.
• Charge from the touch capacitance is discharged to each side proportional to a current divider formed by the difference in resistance from the point of touch and the two sides.
• the raw location of the touching implement is computed from the ratio of the touch capacitance sensed at the opposite sides of each direction (X and Y) on the sensing surface.
• a measurement begins with the inputs of tri- state drivers 112, 113, 114, and 115 being driven by driver control logic 130 with the same reference voltage V re f.
• the outputs of the four tri-state drivers are simultaneously enabled so that their output voltages are applied to the sensor 111 for a first time period.
• two adjacent corners are connected to ground 123 (Gnd) while the opposite two adjacent corners are sensed.
• Gnd ground 123
• a touching implement 121 couples from sensor 111 to ground 123 via capacitance 122, (C 122 ), which becomes charged to a reference voltage.
• C 122 capacitance 122
• a position-dependent portion of charge on C122 is then transferred to an integrator capacitor 125, resulting in a voltage on capacitor 125 that is a function of the ratio of distances between the touched point and the sensed side vs. the distance between the touched point and the reference (grounded) side of the sensing surface.
• Table 1 indicates a measurement sequence that allows X and Y positions to be calculated.
• switches 101 are used to connect the two adjacent sensing corners to the integration capacitor 128 while the two adjacent corners opposite of the sensing corners are grounded.
• switch 124 is closed and the charge being held on the body capacitance 122 is transferred through the sensed side and to the integrator capacitor 125.
• Switch 124 is optionally provided as a pulse width modulation gate.
• the charging of capacitance 122 and charge transfer to integrator capacitor 125 may be repeated a predetermined number of times to build voltage on capacitor 125 to a stable level, discussed further with respect to FIGs. 2(a) and 2(b).
• the total charge accumulated by the integrator capacitor, as represented by integrator output voltage V int is then measured by analog to digital conversion circuits 131, and the resulting measured value is stored for later position calculations by a processor 134.
• the integrator capacitor 125 can then be reset to an initial state, typically 0 volts.
• FIG. 2(a) illustrates timing plots to exemplify the signal generation and processing relative to the sensor 111 of FIG. 1.
• the first line of FIG. 2(a) shows a sequence of charging and discharging cycles due to the application of sensor drive pulses to the sensing surface 111 at a pair of sense corners.
• the second line of FIG. 2(a) shows a sequence of charging and grounding cycles due to the application of sensor drive pulses to the sensing surface 111 at a pair of corners opposite the sensed corners, termed the drive corners.
• a reference voltage is applied to the sensed corners and the drive corners.
• the third line of FIG. 2(a) shows the accumulation of voltage in the integrator capacitor C int during each discharge cycle.
• the first and second time periods are repeated for a fixed number of cycles, after which the voltage on C int has reached a stable value in a measurable range, indicated by Vm 1n and V max .
• Vm 1n and V max the initial four pulse cycles (ti through t 8 ) and four of the final pulse cycles (indicated by way of example as tioo through tio ⁇ ) are shown in FIG.
• the period of the charge/discharge cycle (for example, t 3 - ti) is preferably held constant to provide a fixed integration period and a predictable electromagnetic radiation fundamental frequency.
• the duty cycle determined by the ratio of first and second time periods in a charge/discharge cycle (for example, (t 2 - ti)/(t 3 - ti)), may be varied to adjust Vmeas to be within the desired range between V ma ⁇ and Vmm-
• the time constant of touch capacitance 122 (and parasitic capacitance 128) during the discharge period vary with the impedance of the surface of sensor 111, touch capacitance 122, and parasitic capacitance 128.
• the impedance of sensor 111 and the parasitic capacitance 128 remain relatively constant, but as the location of touch capacitance 122 on sensor 111 is varied, the relative time constant discharging toward the sensing channels versus the driven channels is changed.
• the measurement channel, and its integrator capacitor 125 may be kept within desired operating range by using an algorithm that changes the duty cycle of sensor drive pulses in each sequence to yield a desired range of V int final levels based on the measured V int level of the previous sequences.
• first and second time periods may be pre-established based on known system parameters including minimum and maximum levels of the touch capacitance and parasitic capacitance, C int capacitance, sensor impedance, and driver impedance.
• the first and second time periods may be established through a calibration procedure. In an exemplary calibration procedure, the pulse and measurement cycles described above are performed a predetermined number of times, and the output voltage of integrator capacitor 125 is compared to a selected voltage range.
• the first and second time periods may be maintained without adjustment (pending the possibility of adjustment upon repeating the procedure using a different pair of adjacent sensing corners). If the voltage output of the integrator capacitor is above the selected voltage range, the first time period is increased and the second time is decreased, and the calibration procedure is repeated. If the voltage output of the integrator capacitor is below the selected voltage range, the first time period is decreased and the second time is increased, and the calibration procedure is repeated. In exemplary embodiments, the adjustments to the first and second time periods are performed so that the sum of the first and second time periods remains constant. The effect is to keep the pulse width drive frequency the same while varying the duty cycle.
• FIG. 2(b) summarizes the drive/discharge cycling and measuring process for the sensor 111 of FIG. 1 and as exemplified by the timing plots of FIG. 2(a).
• the threshold may be a number of drive/discharge cycles during touch measurement, or any other suitable threshold parameter.
• the measurements denoted X+, X-, Y+, and Y-, can be used in a position calculation to determine the touch coordinates.
• baseline (no-touch) levels of all measurements are subtracted from current measurements to determine changes using the following equations to determine the Cartesian coordinates of the raw, unsealed touch position, Xt and Yt:
• Capacitance measurements will include parasitic capacitance coupling all parts of the sensor to ground, which is present in the system at all times whether the sensor is being touched or not.
• the effects of parasitic capacitance are eliminated by measuring baselines for all parameters (X+, X-, Y+, Y-) when there is no touch on the sensor. These no-touch capacitance values are subtracted from all subsequent measurements to eliminate the effects of the constant parasitic capacitance.
• the discussions of capacitance measurement in this patent application assume that baseline parasitic capacitance is subtracted from all capacitance measurements. Gradients are dependent on parameters of sensor 111 surface including parasitic capacitance magnitude and distribution, surface resistance, touch capacitance, C int capacitance, and frequencies of operation.
• Sensitivity to a touch depends on the presence of a gradient across the sensor surface. Attenuation that induces charge gradients is caused largely by R-C attenuation between the sensor sheet resistance (R) and parasitic capacitance (C).
• Attenuation of the applied signals causes a touch capacitance to be measured differently by the four measurement circuits, and the differences in measurement are used to calculate the touch position.
• the sensor surface were a copper sheet with essentially 0.0 Ohms from UL to LR, no gradient would be generated between UL and LR when UL is driven by its corresponding signal driver circuit.
• a 10 pf capacitance change due to a touch near LR would be measured as 10 pf with the signal driver circuit attached directly to LR, and it would also be measured as 10 pf with the same signal driver circuit attached to the opposite corner of the sensor surface.
• the presence of a touch is measurable, but given no difference in measurements, the position of the touch cannot be calculated.
• the sheet resistance of sensor were
• IOOK ohms/square, and parasitic capacitance were 10,000 pf, evenly distributed across the sensor surface, then a signal of 1 MHz generated by the signal driver circuit onto corner UL would be attenuated to near zero within one-quarter of the distance across the sensor surface. Thus, a touch near the middle of the sensor surface would register negligible difference at all of the four measurement circuits, due to excessive attenuation.
• the measurement frequency were reduced from IMHz, a frequency could be found that would provide an optimal gradient across the IOOK Ohms/square sensor surface described above.
• Optimal passive attenuation results in a maximum gradient difference across the full area of the sensor. For certain applications, preferably the gradient is also linear.
• Some sensor impedance parameters vary with the sensor design and with its surroundings. For example, placing a sensor near a grounded chassis or placing a metal bezel over the sensor periphery will change sensor capacitance to ground. If sensor and its drive signals are matched so an adequate level of passive attenuation is achieved, touch performance may be adequate and conventional calibration methods may be used. If sensor and signals do not match, one or more parameters such as frequencies of applied signals may be adjusted to achieve desired attenuation curves, as described in this document.
• capacitance measuring circuits include one or more of: an integrating capacitor connected to ground, Cypress PSOCTM circuits, circuits described in co-pending and co-assigned patent application 11/612,790, 3M Touch Systems Inc.'s SMT3 or EXII product, or other known ratio-of-capacitance controllers with series switches added to isolate each channel (as shown in FIG. 3), circuits described in U.S. Patent No. 6,466,036 (Quantum), and, where only one channel is active at a time, a capacitance-to-frequency converter such as discussed in U.S.
• Examples are given pertaining to measuring position on a 2-dimensional surface. It is apparent that the circuits and methods can also be applied to measuring position on a scroll wheel or a 1 -dimensional "slider".
• Example circuits are simplified, and are not intended to limit alternative implementations.
• tri-state circuits 116 controlled by logic 130 may be implemented using parallel input/output (PI/O) ports controlled by a microcontroller.
• Measurement circuits are referenced to ground, although alternatives such as V cc or V cc /2 references may be preferable in some circuits.
• the measurement reference and drive voltages may be changed periodically, to alternate between measuring positive-going pulses and negative-going pulses. This technique can reduce the effect of low- frequency noise, as described in co-assigned and co-pending patent application 11/612,790.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Measurement Of Length, Angles, Or The Like Using Electric Or Magnetic Means (AREA)
• Position Input By Displaying (AREA)
• Electronic Switches (AREA)

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• 2008
  • 2008-11-26 US US12/324,243 patent/US8183875B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2009
  • 2009-11-17 WO PCT/US2009/064681 patent/WO2010062808A2/en active Application Filing
  • 2009-11-17 CN CN2009801474623A patent/CN102227702A/zh active Pending
  • 2009-11-17 EP EP09829709.6A patent/EP2368171A4/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2009-11-17 KR KR1020117014381A patent/KR20110086864A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2009-11-25 TW TW098140147A patent/TW201027414A/zh unknown

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